Simon Murray remains mayor of Armidale, and the councillors still have their jobs going into the long weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But that is expected to officially come to an end for the time being next week, when an administrator is appointed and the council suspended for three months.
An administrator had been expected to be appointed this week, after the council didn't fight its suspension notice earlier this week.
READ MORE:
But late on Friday, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall told The Armidale Express to wait until Tuesday for an update on the appointment of an adminstrator.
Earlier this week Mr Marshall had spoken to the Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock and her office to secure the swift appointment of an independent administrator.
"The Minister is obligated to consider council's response to her notice and I expect arrangements will be put in place in the coming days for the formal suspension of the council and the appointment and announcement of an independent and experienced administrator," Mr Marshall said this week.
He said he looked to the future with a degree of optimism.
On Tuesday, the mayor acknowledged the attendance of only five councillors at the recent workshop to discuss the wording of council's reply to the Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock - outlining the reasons why it should survive - was a fair indication of how fractured council had become.
Since then one councillors has already gone, with Diane Gray resigning this week.
There was some good news for the council this week, with Barnaby Joyce announcing on Thursday they would receive $2 million towards the construction of a health and wellness facility, including a new hydrotherapy pool.
Ms Hancock's office told The Express she would not be able to comment publicly until she had considered the response from the council.
Under the terms of the notice, the Minister has the power to suspend the mayor and councillors for an initial period of up to three months and, if necessary, extend that period for a further three months (six months in total) to resolve the current issues within the council.
The Minister also has powers to dismiss the council for a period of time up to the next general election, or for a specified period beyond then.
